Fr. Steve opened the gathering with a prayer and then read the following:
Background
I’d like to start with some background so that we’re all on the same page. This meeting is about the Colbert House and not about any other issue or concern. Any of those can be directed to the Pastoral Council representatives or an email to me at steve.matthews@rcda.org.
As you know, before I arrived last July, the diocese instructed the transition team that whoever the new pastor was to be, that priest would be living in the St. Joseph’s Stuyvesant Falls rectory. Therefore, they were told to investigate the possible sale of the St. James rectory since the real estate market was very hot.
Unfortunately, there was poor communication between the transition team and the diocesan Pastoral Planning office with the leaders of St. James parish. As you also know, there was lots of angst with the secretive process of Real Estate agents, appraising the rectory, etc.
As you also are aware, I was named pastor around the same time and felt I had entered a hornet’s nest. Ever since then, there has been a distrust of my leadership along with suspicion about the intentions of the diocese. While I have attempted on a number of occasions to assure St. James parishioners (as well as parishioners from the other parishes) that there was and is no hidden agenda, by me or by the diocese, including the bishop, there was and is still that lack of trust.
In the early fall 2021 I hosted a meeting here at St. James (along with separate meetings at the other 3 churches) to listen to parishioners’ concerns. While I’m not here to re-hash those meetings, I took your concerns seriously which is why I invited Fr. Bob Longobucco, Vicar General of the diocese to come to our One Faith Community of the Catholic Community of Northern Columbia County to discuss issues about how the transition went and the concerns about the possible sale of the St. James Rectory.
Colbert House Committee
From that meeting, it was agreed that a small group of St. James parishioners would meet and have met to discuss the possible uses for the St. James Rectory aka The Colbert House. Representatives of the other parishes were included. While I wasn’t included in the detailed meetings, I gave the committee my support to continue to determine finances and operations as well as potential uses of the St. James Rectory.
Thank you to the members and chairs of the various committees that make up the Colbert House Committee, including its advisors. Lots of time, thought and energy went into the proposal and all of it is very much appreciated.
There is more information in the status of The Colbert House in the bulletin dated June 5, 2022. While the original goal was to come up with a rough plan within 60 to 90 days, the process took a bit longer than anticipated.
One of the concerns expressed at the Fall meeting with Fr. Longobucco was the poor communications and transparency between the diocese and parish of St. James.
To be 100% clear and transparent, part of the task that the Colbert House committee agreed to is that there is a non-negotiable condition that has been placed on the retention of the Colbert House. It is that St. James Church (or other parishes) funds are not to be used to pay for any associated costs for the Colbert House. (Thus, significant fundraising efforts will be required.) (See status report of June 5 linked here)
Shared Expenses
As you may know, there is information in this week’s bulletin about tri-parish shared expenses. Examples include administration, faith formation, clergy expenses and my living expenses. These expenses are divided among the three parishes. There will be no change to that structure (other than the possible change in the % each parish is to be responsible for, but that is a discussion for the Parish Finance Councils of each of our three parishes).
Request for Meeting with Fr. Longobucco (Vicar General of the Diocese)
The Colbert House committee wanted to meet with Fr. Longobucco to determine if they were on the correct path with the ideas that they were developing. The leaders of the Colbert House committee presented me with an email requesting a meeting with Fr. Longobucco. I made a few suggested edits, and the email was sent to him in the later part of April. I contacted Fr. Longobucco and suggested he and I speak to discuss the email before he was to respond to it. Unfortunately, between his schedule and mine, (including my case of COVID) it took a lot longer for Fr. Longobucco and I to meet. So please do not blame him for the lack of response. We saw each other a few times in May and early June, but the timing wasn’t right.
We finally had a phone call in the latter part of June and here we are.
Proposal
The Colbert House committee has proposed the financial budget for the Colbert House for this FY, which runs from July 1 – June 30. They also proposed a list of 15 or so uses that could be held at the Colbert House. Some of those uses were activities that I had reservations about, but they were still listed in the proposal (Appendix A of the Proposal).
It is also proposed and agreed that all related operating expense will be fully financed by the independent resources (not any parish funds). If not, we may need to sell the Colbert House.
When Fr. Longobucco and I spoke, I mentioned some of my concerns to him. I did also express to Fr. Longobucco that there may be some uses that the diocese should consider. He was open to discuss them, and I suggested that maybe it could come down to one or two uses.
He was open to discuss them and mentioned that he had one in mind that we discussed. Perhaps it might even be a win/win for the parish and the diocese. I stated that I think the parish and the committee would be open to his idea and that I also had one in mind, that wasn’t on the list. We discussed it and agreed that these should be explored and implemented if the parish and the committee agree.
Reminder about Financing (from the Proposal)
“…, it needs to be made clear to the community that over the longer term, if inadequate funding is not available to meet the expenses and establish a reserve (for major repairs) the Colbert House may be sold.”
Agreement between Fr. Steve and Diocese
While there were a number of suggestions put forth, Fr. Longobucco and I have come up with an agreement with a simpler plan to avoid the sale of this property.
The usage of the Colbert House is as follows – it will be for a period of two years, with a decision at the end of two years (or sooner, if financing is not sufficient), whether or not the agreement is working.
Three potential uses:
- Fr. Steve will stay at the St. James Rectory occasionally (probably on average once a week), and
- The Colbert House aka the St. James rectory will be opened to priests of the RCDA as a day’s respite for those who may not have a place to go on their day off.
- It will also be made available as an overnight location for priests who may want to use it as a quiet place of prayer or mini retreat.
Details can be worked out, but no other uses will be permitted for the first two years, unless first approved by the pastor and Fr. Longobucco in advance.
Thank you
While both Fr. Longobucco and I appreciate all the time and effort of the committee to brainstorm and work through a number of other suggestions, the Colbert House will have these limited uses for the next 2 years. At which time a formal review will determine if any changes need to be made for the Colbert House / St. James rectory.
Lastly, to reiterate, that the budget for shared services for each of the 3 parishes (at a TBD - to be determined percentage) will continue to pay for Fr. Steve’s living expenses at the St. Joseph’s Stuyvesant Falls rectory. Any expenses of the Colbert House will not be offset by the other parishes or to offset the shared expenses of the pastor’s living quarters.
Thank you for listening and your concern for the St. James Rectory/Colbert House
Questions
While the in-person meeting had an opportunity to ask questions, if you are reading this and have questions you may direct them to the Colbert House Committee at:
or to me at:
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